After the baby was delivered, social workers arrived to immediately take the child into the state’s custody.
A recently-filed lawsuit claims that Vermont and its child welfare agency used unsubstantiated rumors about a pregnant woman’s mental health to justify taking custody of her daughter before the baby was even born.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiff A.V. by attorneys from Pregnancy Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont. It seeks an injunction against the state’s alleged “surveillance” program, as well as damages of an unspecified amount.
The lawsuit states that A.V. stayed at a homeless shelter in January of 2022. Before she left, the facility’s director informed the Vermont Department for Children and Families that A.V. appeared to be suffering from untreated mental health conditions, including paranoia and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The state responded by opening an investigation, during which it spoke to A.V.’s counselor, her midwife, and a hospital social worker.
Attorneys for A.V. said that, even as the investigation was underway, she was never approached or informed about the state’s concerns. Instead, while she was in labor, hospital officials allegedly gave regular updates about A.V.’s pregnancy to the Department for Children and Families.
After the baby was delivered, social workers arrived to immediately take the child into the state’s custody.
“It’s a horrific set of circumstances for our client,” ACLU attorney Harrison Stark told The Associated Press. “It’s also clear from what has happened that this is not the first time the agency has done this.”
“We have learned from several confidential sources that DCF has a pattern and practice of looking into folks like our client who are pregnant, who are of interest to the agency based on a set of unofficial criteria and who the agency is tracking on what is called a ‘high risk pregnancy docket’ or ‘high risk pregnancy calendar,’” Stark said.
Kulsoom Ijaz, a lawyer with Pregnancy Justice, also told The Associated Press that what happened to A.V. appears to be part of a broader trend involving women being charged with crimes related to pregnancy and to their unborn children.
“What [the Department for Children and Families] did here is incredibly cruel. It’s discriminatory. It’s state-sanctioned surveillance and stalking, and it violates Vermont’s newly-enshrined right to reproductive autonomy in its state constitution,” Ijaz said. “This is an opportunity for Vermont to signal to other states, as a leader, and say that these rights don’t just exist on paper; they exist in practice, too.”
Sources
ACLU claims DCF illegally surveils pregnant Vermonters considered ‘unsuitable’ for parenthood
Lawsuit alleges Vermont tracks pregnant women deemed unsuitable for parenthood
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